So I have been looking at lots of new toys lately and the one that I keep comin' back to is the 1894 in 44mag. It just feels so right. Points beautifully. My question is this, I have read that the barrel twist on it is slow and doesn't stabilize the 300gr and up bullets to good. Is this right? How serious is it? I have been checking out Marshall's offerings and he has a couple of nice 250, 265, 280 grainers with a monster meplat that would be great on anything in the lower 48 that doesn't have claws. Opinions?

Check the gun before you assume what the twist rate is. Marlin changed twist rates a few years ago and you could find either the old 1-38" or the newer 1-20" twist rates. If it's a Micro-Groove (should say so on the barrel but usually obvious by looking at the muzzle) then it's almost certainly the slower twist rate. 300 grains seems to be about the cut-off for the slow twist to stabilize. Some guns will and some won't.

The issue with the 1894 Marlins is feeding (in addition to the twist rate). While the 280gr. WFN would be idea (in my opinion) for that rifle, it may not feed. Marlin .44 mags have a gap at the back of the barrel where it meets the top of the receiver and these tend to hang up very blunt bullets. Oddly enough the .45 Colt guns did not have this gap and mine would feed bullets that were nearly cylindrical.

Anyway.... you probably will find best results with a narrower nose, I'd try the LFN style first. Bullet weight between 250 and 290 grains will probably all have about the same effect on the target, so might as well go a little lighter and cut down on recoil. The 1894s can surprise you with the effect on your shoulder.... My .45 Colt with 300 grain bullets smacked the snot out of me on the bench!

Seems, going from memory, good results have been reported with the 250gr. bullets by other forum members as regards to feeding.

I have the Marlin 44 rifle with Micro-groove rifling. 20 years ago when the hard cast 300 grain bullets came popular for the 44 mag, I tried them.

They shot terrible, tough to even establish a group at 50 yards.

Another thing, my rifle kicked severely so that the gun couldn't take it. the cross bolts in the magazine tube bent from the recoil of about 30 rounds. The magazine wouldn't work. It was not an expensive thing to fix. I made new cross bolts and hardened them.

But that was my experience and I went back to the 200 and 240 grain jacketed bullets. Which I've used to kill a lot of game with.

If you decide not to go with the Marlin and want to try a M92 Rossi, I have one in 44 Magnum that I'd like to sell. It has 10 rounds down the tube. I bought it on a whim and should have bought it in 45 LC to match my other projects I have been working on. The gun is absolutely mint and I'd let it go at a steal along with the other 40 rounds of 250 grain JHP's that I haven't shot.

Everyone seems to get all worked up about the 1:38 twist rate but I don't see it as a problem at all. Most of them should take a bullet up to at least 285 grains pretty easily and that's not a slouch bullet!

If I needed a 320 grain bullet for big bear defense, I would load it because it's not going to tumble at the short ranges I'd use it at.

And really, in my humble opinion, if you need much more than a 285+/- grain bullet, you probably have the wrong rifle with you.

Since a reasonably hard 250-265gr flatpoint bullet from a .44 mag carbine has proven to have adequate penetration for all common game in the lower 48, there is little to be gained with heavier bullets until you can go to a larger cartridge in a larger gun.